It's Friday again and with the weather turning a bit chilly lately, Girl Friday thinks it might be a good weekend just to relax at home.

Yet, even while staying indoors, a true fashionista like our Girl Friday will be dressed not only for comfort but also for flair. You never know who might ring your doorbell!

In the 1960s and 1970s loungewear was not only worn to be comfy around the house, but it had to be fashionable enough in case your neighbours stopped by for a cup of tea. While today's loungewear might consist of what is termed "sweats", Girl Friday is going to be comfortable and stylish at the same time in vintage comfy clothes.

By the 1960s brand Loungewear by Danville, this funky paisley and floral outfit is in a bright red orange and has a bodysuit and quilted skirt. This is too cool to just be worn around the house!

From the At Home Wear range of Sears from the 1960s or 70s. With the zip up the front and a tie belt, this peach patchwork quilted loungewear could be worn as a dress by someone with a certain sense of style! Love the wide sleeves!

This 1970s housedress, muumuu, lounger (whatever sounds good to you) by Elaine Sklar is in an unusual brown and blue floral pattern. With the zip all the way up the neck, you can show a lot or keep it all hidden. Wear it lose and comfy or belt it for added style!

What do these all have in common? They're fun, funky, and comfy all at the same time. And if you get a sudden burst of energy, you wont be embarrassed to wear your loungewear outside!

It is now officially Autumn and it certainly feels like it outside! The nights are getting colder, the leaves are changing to orange, red, yellow and every color in between and the winds are blowing during the day to create a lovely crunch of leaves on the ground.

As the old saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them!

This gorgeous 1970s maxi dress is in a warm spiced pumpkin.

You can wear it on its own like above or with the matching cape.

The color of changing maple leaves this Mijoi dress has the most adorable ruffled neckline.

Pumpkins are now in the grocery stores and market stands. The same gorgeous orange as this full skirt with ric rac trim!

Reflecting all the colors of the changing leaves, wear this 1950s beaded necklace and embrace the Season!

Not sure these Autumn colors are for you? Why not just add a leaf to your lapel with this vintage Coro silver tone leaf brooch.

Like most lovers of vintage clothing I also have a large collection of vintage accessories and jewelry to finish any outfit.

One maker of vintage costume jewelry I seem to gravitate towards is the brand Coro. Coro jewelry comes in many different styles and tastes. From simple silver to bright rhinestones.

Yet with Coro being in existence for a long period of time how best can we identify the correct time period for each item? It's not an exact science, but here is a little history of the company and a short guide to help with marks.

Coro jewelry, Cohn & Rosenberger, was founded in New York by Emanuel Cohn & Carl Rosenberger in 1901/1902 & incorporated in 1913. A factory was established in Providence, RI in 1911. With offices or plants in New York & Providence; at times they had a presence in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Toronto, England and Mexico. Great Britain mechanical patents have been found in the name of Corocraft from 1961 until 1969, which documents actual production in England (courtesy Mary Walden-Till).

Cohn died in 1910, but the name remained Cohn & Rosenberger. The corporate name "Coro" was adopted in 1943. Rosenberger died in 1957, & his son Gerald, who succeded him, died in 1967.

In 1969 the family sold 51% of the Coro stock to Richton, Intl. Corp., who bought the remaining stock in 1970. Richton also owned the Oscar de la Renta brand. By 1979 all the Coro companies, except the Canadian company, were bankrupt. It was sold to a South American company in 1992 & also went backrupt.**

If your piece shows the copyright symbol in addition to the Coro mark, it generally means that the piece dates to after 1955. Many jewelry manufacturers switched from patents to copyrights at about time. So, it also means that if there is a copyright symbol, it is not as likely that you will find a patent.*

Keep in mind that marks were often used for a number of years. For example the commonly seen mark of the name Coro in script, was used for many years. So although it is indentified as 1919, it was used throughout much of the history of the company.*

Coro bright pink enamel flower and rhinestone brooch.

With the copyright symbol this brooch likely dates from the 1950s

Coro pink enamel drop leaf necklace.

This is an earlier marking with this necklace probably dating from the 1930s

Coro gold tone ribbon bracelet.

This bracelet includes the pegasus symbol next to the Coro marking. While the pegasus symbol was used by Coro since the late 1930s due to the copyright C we know this bracelet is from the 1950s.

All the jewelry above plus more Coro and other costume jewelry is available at Tabby's Vintage Shop.

**Information and Coro marks courtesy of www.illusionjewels.com. A very good source for identifying makers marks.

*Information courtesy of www.thejewelrypatentproject.com. Very interesting information also about all the patents Coro took out for their jewelry designs.

The beautiful burlesque dancer and model Dita Von Teese takes her fashion cues from the styles of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Her love of vintage was evident when she attended London Fashion Week this past week. During a recent interview she spoke about her vintage fashion inspiration.

For Autumn 2012 peplum is still hot, hot hot.Along with that gorgeous style popular in the 1940s, seen in fashion spreads is the pretty pastels found in the 1950s. Pale yellow, mint green, light blue, baby pink. Feminine and classic. Think Jackie O.

This modern Cacharel dress is a good example of lovely soft mint green

From asos.com, this white modern dress shows off the fantastic peplum style.

The combination of the two, pastel and peplum, can be found in this Caron Chicago dress and jacket available at Tabby's Vintage Shop. And better yet, it still has the original tags! $20.99

This week Girl Friday is putting together a fashion look that will help you bring out your inner Jane Fonda -- without the leg warmers!

Let's take a simple 1970s purple bodysuit. Jane Fonda, eat your heart out! This one has a zip up the back for ease and a glamourous halter neck style. Bodysuits are a very versatile garment to have in your wardrobe.

Add to it this amazing maxi skirt with sequin detail. Already we are moving from dancing to disco to fashion forward. Sweet and stylish.

Keep the chill off your shoulders with this sweet knit poncho.

No outfit is complete without the perfect handbag! This 1960s beaded bag continues the purple passion theme and will be sure to garner you a lot of compliments!

With the kids back to school and the nights starting to get darker earlier, it seems we still want to cling to the bright warm summer.

What better way to do this than by wearing sunny yellow!

Pippa Middleton made a splash wearing this modern Phase Eight dress at the U.S. Open just last week. This dress has a definite vintage feel.

This Lane Bryant vintage dress available at Tabby's Vintage Shop is in the same cheery yellow. The dress is sleeveless with lace detail at the bust and comes with the matching shirt jacket in the same color and lace pattern.$23.99

This week Girl Friday is feeling blue...velvet, that is!Nothing looks and feels so glamourous as velvet and these two dresses in gorgeous royal blue would make anyone green with envy. Two totally different styles, but both creating a stylish and elegant feel perfect for that special evening. You'll be left feeling blue if you miss out!

This stunning blue velvet dress has a 1930s/40s feel but was made later. Elegant from the front and adorable from the back with low dip and bow.$28.00 + S&H

This elegant blue velvet dress looks to be from the 1960s. Floor length it has the added glamour of the front panel with sequins and beading.$28.00 + S&H

My Grandma who died 6 years ago at the ripe old age of 93 would have been 100 today.

If she had been born to a different family in a different place, she could have become a star, a performer on the stage or screen. She was a very talented woman who sang, played the piano and painted beautifully with no training. But as her parents were working class immigrants from Eastern Europe struggling to make a living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the early 1900s, it was not to be.

Broadway's loss was my gain. Miss you, Grandma.

May 30, 1934. Washington Park, Milwaukee. Sarah, aged 21, on a date with her future husband, my Grandpa. I think they make a very dapper couple. I adore her dress with the matching slouch hat, gloves, shoes, and handbag.

Labor Day is upon us which made me think of the age old fashion admonishment, "Don't wear white after Labor Day." Yet, where did this phrase come from and is it still adhered to today?

Like many adages there really isn't a definitive date, time, or originator behind the social unacceptability of wearing white after the first Monday in September, but the origins seem to emerge during the turn of the 20th Century. The social distinctions between the rich and poor were prevalent at this time. The upper classes, when summer arrived, would put away their darker winter clothes, unpack their white shoes, dresses, suits and hats and head off to their seaside resorts to holiday for the summer. The white wardrobe was a practicality for keeping cool in the hotter climes while creating a distinction from the poorer classes who could not afford to summer by the sea. Picture it in your minds, the Edwardian white frilly dresses with the matching parasols and the men dressed in white suits and panama hats strolling along the promenade.

When summer ended and the upper classes returned home, they would pack up the white clothes and bring out the darker, warmer, garments again just in time for Autumn.

Soon, however, there became a new breed of rich, not those born into privilege, but the nouveau riche, who had the money, but did not necessarily know all the "rules" of being in the upper classes. By the 1920s and 30s, it seems the unwritten rule of putting away your whites in September was slowly fading away. It was not mentioned in any of the major etiquette books of that time, and Coco Chanel was known to wear white all year round in the 1920s.

Why this saying has become so ingratiated into the modern public's fashion life, I couldn't say. Some people still feel like a rebel if they wear white after Labor Day, but as Miss Manners said in a reply to this very issue in 2009, "...there are no wardrobe police to enforce this, which makes Miss Manners wonder what all the excitement is about." (Washington Post June 17, 2009)So if it's all right with Miss Manners, then feel free to wear white whenever you feel like, even on September 4, 2012.

Plus size white sleeveless a-line dress - size XXL/XXXL bust 46

Perfect staple for your wardrobe, this plus size white dress can be worn many ways. Belted, with a scarf around the neck, a fitted jacket on top, or even a darker turtleneck underneath. You decide!